


And It Would Wait

by derschmetterling



Category: X-Men (Movies), X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Fluff, Gay Mutant Road Trip, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-10-11
Packaged: 2018-04-25 19:50:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4973839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/derschmetterling/pseuds/derschmetterling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charles and Erik wait for a bus. They wait for a while.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And It Would Wait

**Author's Note:**

> Just a small idea in my head. I wanted to write some canon cherik that was light-hearted.

The bus station was not so deserted as Erik would have hoped. There were a few occupants milling around the stop, all bundled tightly in coats and breathing out clouds in the early morning fog. No one was speaking outside of their collective groups, a small family, a young couple, a businessman, and finally, Erik and Charles.

Charles looked cheerful despite the somewhat bleary shadows under his eyes. He was wrapped in a long gray coat and a dark blue scarf that looked quite fetching with his eyes. Early morning meant he wasn’t as proper as usual, Erik could see a shadow on his jaw, bits of stubble dotting his cheeks. Small curls of hair whipped around his face as he grinned rosily at the two young children stomping around in the shallow puddles by their feet.

Erik frowned slightly as one of the children came splashing too close and sprayed his trouser leg with rainwater. Her mother quickly pulled her away, giving Erik an apologetic glance. Charles laughed lightly at the expression on Erik’s face as the two dancing children were led away.

“Come now, it’s only water,” Charles said quietly, still smiling.

Erik shook his head, craning his neck to look for any sign of headlights in the fog. Nothing yet.

“Or is it that you don’t like children?” Charles asked, condensation gathering around his head like a cloud.

“I like children fine,” Erik responded, never minding that he’d never spent much time around one, aside from Anya, and she’d only been a baby when he lost her.

Charles clapped Erik on the shoulder with a gloved hand, as if he sensed the waves of sadness emanating from Erik, which he probably did. There was something to be said about having a friend who could read his moods telepathically. On the second night they had known each other, Charles claimed to know everything about Erik. He’d never really wanted to know if that was true. Whether Charles knew anything about Anya or Magda, he never said, but there was some level of understanding between them, Erik thought.

Conscious of their surroundings, Erik took a small step back from Charles, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves. Charles seemed to understand, his mouth thinning into a tight line.

_No one is noticing us,_ Charles said, only his lips didn’t move. _Is this all right?_

Erik wasn’t entirely sure of the mechanics involved, but he tried his best, trying to direct his thoughts as naturally as possible. _Maybe not, but I’m not willing to take that chance._ Images of pink triangles floated through his mind.

Charles’s pink cheeks paled slightly. _I’m sorry, my friend._

Now Erik felt guilty. He didn’t want them to spend the morning dwelling on Erik’s past. He instead nudged Charles and lifted his chin towards the family. _Tell me about them._

A grin pulled at the edges of Charles’s mouth. He tapped his chin thoughtfully, eyes narrowing as he considered the parents and their young boy and girl.

_Father works at a newspaper. He only edits the copy, but he enjoys his job. His children are named Molly and Michael. She wants to be a lion tamer when she grows up and he wants to be a painter. Or maybe a pirate, he hasn’t decided yet. Their mother used to work as a telephone operator but she took time off to raise them, and oh-!_ A delighted spark in Erik’s head went off as Charles registered something in the mother’s thoughts. _She’s pregnant again! Only just found out a few weeks ago._

A happy grin spread across Charles’s face and Erik thought it made him look quite fetching. He resisted the urge to press a kiss to Charles’s forehead, but Charles must have caught his desire anyway because he tapped Erik’s wrist very quickly and lightly.

Erik asked after the businessman, a weary traveller who was looking forward to coming home to his wife. _And mostly his dog,_ Charles added, biting down on a cheeky smile.

Erik lifted his eyes towards the young couple who stood, shivering in the cold, with their arms around each other. They were dressed shabbily, in patchwork coats and scuffed shoes, but looked perfectly happy despite the abysmal weather.

_They met on New Year’s,_ Charles said. _Her parents don’t approve, so they’re eloping._

_That seems awfully quick,_ Erik’s brows shot up into his hairline. _They barely know each other._

Charles shook his head and wrapped his arms around himself, squeezing tightly. “I don’t know,” he said shyly, giving Erik a tiny glance. “Sometimes you meet someone, and you just _know.”_

Erik felt a lump rise in his throat. The urge to reach out and take Charles’s hand was stronger than ever, so he did it. Just a quick squeeze before stuffing his hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t be tempted again.

Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. But Charles was right. Sometimes two people met and they just knew. And Erik knew that he loved Charles with an intensity that scared him at times. It had only been a few months since their memorable first meeting, but Charles had stolen Erik, mind, body, and soul. 

His heart beat uncomfortably loud in his chest as he looked down the street once more, the end nowhere in sight and still obscured by the fog. The uncertainty of when the bus would approach was no longer worrying Erik. He would be content to stand with Charles on this isolated strip of land forever, on this cold and misty morning in March. But nothing could last forever, and soon Charles was raising his arm to shoulder height to point in the direction Erik’d been looking.

“I see the lights,” he said, and indeed, two pale headlights came up the road, and the bus’s tires came to a squealing stop.

They were the last to board the bus, and quickly found seats in the back, where they were unlikely to be disturbed. In their privacy, Erik folded one of Charles’s hands between his own.

_Maybe we should elope,_ Charles sent out the thought. _Surely the rest of the world can wait a bit longer._

Erik laughed a little too long at Charles’s attempt at a joke and stroked the cold fingers cupped in his hand. The world would not wait any longer for them, but it was a nice thought.


End file.
